Privacy Policy

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We always want our policies to be clear and easy to understand — so this Privacy Policy offers a simple breakdown of what happens with your data on Kickstarter, including which details are public, which are private, and which are shared only with creators whose projects you're supporting.

This policy officially goes into effect and replaces the previous version on August 10, 2014. Nothing's changed about the way Kickstarter works, the information we gather, or the way we use it — that's all the same as it was before. We just want to make sure all our policies are simple and straightforward. And we're always open to feedback, so if you have any thoughts, contact us.

What We Collect

In order for you to create an account on Kickstarter and use the Service, we need to collect and process some information. Depending on your use of the Service, that may include:

information (such as your name, email and postal addresses, telephone number, and country of residence) that you provide by completing forms on the Site, including if you register as a user of the Service, subscribe to our newsletters, upload or submit any material through the Site, or request any information;

your login and password details, in connection with the account sign-in process;

details of any requests or transactions you make through the Service;

information about your activity on and interaction with the Site and Services, such as your IP address and the device or browser you use;

communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem); and

information that you submit to the Site in the form of comments, contributions to discussions, or messages to other users.

What’s Private

This data will not be publicly displayed or revealed to other users:

any payment information you provide

your password details

your IP address

your phone number

communications you send to us (for example, when you ask for support, send us questions or comments, or report a problem)

We don’t give your personal information to any third-party services, except when it’s necessary to provide Kickstarter’s Service (like when we partner with payment processors).

We do reserve the right to disclose personal information when we believe that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or law enforcement, to prevent fraud or abuse, or to protect Kickstarter’s legal rights.

What’s Only Shared with Creators

When you back a project, the project’s creator will know your account name, the amount you have pledged, and the reward you have selected. Creators never receive backers’ credit card details or other payment information.

If a project you have backed is successfully funded, the creator will receive the email address associated with your Kickstarter account. They may also send you a survey requesting information needed to provide your reward. (For instance, they may need your mailing address, or T-shirt size.) Any information you provide in such surveys will be received by the creator.

What’s Public

When you create an account, we create a basic profile page for you on Kickstarter, containing your account name, the date the account was created, and a list of projects you have backed or launched. Whenever your account name appears on the site (for instance, when you post comments, send messages, or back projects), people can click your account name to see your profile. The profile is not searchable on Kickstarter or via search engines like Google. Here are some of the things that will be publicly viewable on your profile, or elsewhere on the site:

the account name, and the date it was created

any information you choose to add to your profile (like a picture, bio, or your location)

projects you've backed (but not pledge amounts or rewards chosen)

projects you've launched

any comments you’ve posted on the Site

if you have "Liked" a project update

Please note that each project page lists the community of users who have backed the project. If you don’t want others to see your name in a project’s Backers tab, choose an account name that is not identifiable (e.g., CatLuvr02).

Creators are also asked to verify their identities before launching a project. Once this has been done, the creator’s Verified Name will be publicly displayed on their account profile and on any projects they launch.

Uses of Your Personal Information

We will use the personal information you provide to:

identify you when you sign in to your account;

enable us to provide you with the Services;

send you information we think you may find useful or which you have requested from us;

present projects to you when you use the Service which we believe will be of interest based on your geographic location and previous use of the Service;

administer your account with us;

enable us to contact you regarding any question you make through the Service;

analyze the use of the Service and the people visiting to improve our content and Services; and

use for other purposes that we may disclose to you when we request your information.

We take securing your data and preserving your privacy very seriously. We never post anything to your Facebook, Twitter, or other third-party accounts without your permission. Kickstarter Project Creators never receive backers’ credit card details or other payment information. We will never sell your data.

Email

We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. We try to keep emails to a minimum and give you the ability to opt out when we can.

We will send you email relating to your personal transactions. You will also receive certain email notifications, from which you may opt out.

We may send you service-related announcements on the rare occasions when it is necessary to do so.

Technology

Cookies are small pieces of information which are issued to your computer when you visit a website and which store and sometimes track information about your use of the Service. Kickstarter uses cookies to help recognize you as a repeat visitor, to improve the quality of our Service, and to try and make your browsing experience meaningful. When you enter our Site, our web server sends a cookie to your computer which allows us to recognize your computer but not specifically who is using it. By associating the identification numbers in the cookies with other customer information when, for example, you log-in to the Service, we know that the cookie information relates to you. Some of the code and cookies used by our Service are served by us, and some are served by third parties who are delivering services on our behalf.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but, if you prefer, you can change your browser settings to prevent that or to notify you each time a cookie is set. You can also learn more about cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org which includes additional useful information on cookies and how to block cookies using different browsers. By blocking or deleting cookies used on our Service, you may not be able to take full advantage of our Service.

Wrap-up

To modify or delete the personal information you have provided to us, please log in and update your profile. We may retain certain information as required by law or for necessary business purposes.

On request, we will give you a copy of all the personal information about you that we hold. This information is subject to a fee not exceeding the prescribed fee permitted by law.

People under 18 (or the legal age in your jurisdiction) are not permitted to use Kickstarter on their own, and so this privacy policy makes no provision for their use of the site.

Information that you submit through the Service may be transferred to countries other than where you reside (for example, to our servers in the United States). We will protect all information we receive in accordance with this privacy policy.

For the purposes of the United Kingdom’s Data Protection Act 1998, Kickstarter is the data controller.